Cigarette package



D. DIAMOND CIGARETTE memes Filed Aug. 23, 1938 Oct. 10, 19.39.

' Fig. 1

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ATTORNEY.

Patented a. 10, 1939 OFFICE CIGARETTE mosses David ma as, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application August 23, 1938, Serial No. 226,335

' 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-51) invention relates to and relates particularly to cigarettes whereby they may be easily opened, and the cigarettes will not lose their flavor.

Heretofore, cigarettes have been wrapped within a covering of paper and of tin-toil with a label indicating the name of the cigarettes and other advertising matter pasted around the tinfoil, and the hereinbefore described contents and covering are encased within a covering of Gellophane. The purpose of encasing the cigarettes in Cellophane is to prevent the drying of the tobacco with a corresponding loss in flavor. The cigarettes when kept in packages having a paper covering not only have a tendency to lose their flavor, but they are easily crushed, or the ends of the cigarettes are crumbled while stored, thereby creating either an unsightly package or a badly crumbled cigarette.

Diiiicultyis usually encountered in breaking and removing the Cellophane wrapper as well as the paper wrapper to secure the first cigarette from the package. This diiliculty arises because the package must be sealed tightly to be airtight, and no provision for readilyopening the package is provided. After the first cigarette is obtained when the package is opened, the other cigarettes may be crumbled in removing the first cigarette unless great care is exercised.

Heretofore, cigarettes have also been packed in stifl casings which open into two parts, but the casing is composed of substantially solid ma. terial, such as heavy cardboard, and adds bulkiness to the package. Individual supports have also been provided for holding the cigarettes, but these devices although eiiicient mean the carrying of an extra accessory for the cigarette smoker, as he must carry the support of the casing with him even though he may not have any cigarettes therein.

i It is an object of my invention to overcome the diillculties encountered in the packaging of cigarettes whereby the user may have a fresh, originally flavored cigarette in perfect condition.

Another object of my invention is to provide a package for cigarettes which may be easily and readily opened.

A further object of my invention is to provide a cigarette package wherein the cigarette may be well-preserved in construction and in flavor even though the package is stored.

Another object oi my invention is to provide a package of cigarettes which may be readily opened and wherein the cigarettes are readily available for use.

Another object of my invention is to provide a package for cigarettes having a perforated slit therein which may be easily opened without danger of breaking the finger nails or scratching the polished finger nails 01 the person opening -the package when they use their finger nails in construction and combination of parts, as will 'be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. lisaperspectiveviewoiase'aledpackage of cigarettes embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of Fig. 1 with the package in opened position.

Referring more specifically to the drawing wherein similar reference characters dte corresponding parts throughout, there is shown inthe drawing a package of cigarettes, generally designated as A, comprising a plurality of parallel cigarettes 8 having a covering of tearable paper aroimd all of the cigarettes as a unit and a Cellophane wrapper over the entire In order that the package may be readily opened, I place a perforated vertical line Ill through the front vertical portion of the package;

thus dividing the front into two parts, designated Al and A2. The line [0 is either in the vertical center or to one side of the vertical center and preferably has a plurality of perforations i4 therein. The perforations H in the line enable the package to be divided easily by'using the fingers of the users'hands. The slit or line "I runs through about three-quarters of the top and bottom walls 13 and i5, respectively, of the package, and the slit is continued as arcs ll' to the rear face I! of the package. The purpose of these arcuate members I1 is to prevent and to eliminate the tearing of the package when it is split into the parts A! and A2, it keeps the bottom cigarettes in the pack, and also serves for better rigidity of the pack covers at the corners when the pack is opened. Each part of the slit, such as the arcs i1, is preferably covered with an adhesive strip when stored.

when the package is sealed and the slit i0 is placed therein, it is' still necessary and desirable to have the slit encased with a covering to prevent air from entering .into the package. Therefore, I place an adhesive strip, such as Scotch cellulose tape, generally designated as B, so that it will adhere over the slit, as is illustrated in Fig. 1. when the package is to be opened, this strip B is removed by pulling the portion designated C,-which has one end folded upon itself to 'make it readily available for lifting by the fingers. The strip B is removed by pulling at the portion l8, and the package is opened along the slit III, as illustrated in Fig. 2. After a cigarette is removed, and the package is to be stored away, and to prevent the package from coming apart whereby the interior of the package would be exposed to the atmosphere, I place a cross strip, generally designated as C, so that it extends at an angle of approximately 45 to the vertical edge but which extends between the portions A, A2 of the package, and which also stretches across the cellulose strip B. On this holding strip C, I place a mark at about the position II, which may have the legend Stop thereon. In pulling the strip 0 with the fingers grasping the point 20, the strip is pulled until the left-hand portion is pulled away from the package until a portion designated I! or Stop" is reached. The strip is then left in this position and the package opened, as shown in Fig. 2. When it is desirable to close the package, the edges of the package along the ,slit II are pushed together so that the portions Al, A2 are continuous, and the strip C is pasted against both sides of the package, thus holding them together.

It is to be noted that my invention particularly applies to those types of packages which are of soft, pliable and/or easily tearable material and which are not rigid, and applies particularly to the type of cigarette packages which are now available on the market.

The purpose of perforations in the line i0 is to provide an easily severable line and still keep the package substantially closed while it is stored.

Although my invention has been described in considerable detail, such-description is intended as illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

I claim as my invention:

In a cigarette package comprising a tearable soft paper covering, said package of substantially rectangular formation, a perforated line on the front, bottom and top sides, said line being in substantially the center of said front, top and bottom, a curvilinear perforated line on the top and bottom sides joining the ends of the straight top and bottom lines, respectively, to the back of the package, an adhesive strip adapted to cover said perforated straight line, and adhesive means to hold the two front portions of the package together after the perforated line has been split.

DAVID DIAMOND. 

